Making the most out of the Bigger Pockets

Before I begin, let me tell you that whatever I say here just my opinion and what I do. You are welcome to agree or disagree with me. You are welcome to follow all or some of the techniques, or outright reject it. Please make sure you listen to the podcasts only when it is absolutely safe to do so. Any distraction while driving can be dangerous.

The Podcasts

I have listened to over 500 hours of the Bigger Pockets Podcasts, probably even more hours than what Josh and Brandon recorded. How? Read on...

I think the Bigger Pockets Podcasts are one of the best things since sliced bread. There's is such abundance of knowledge in it, and all at the convenience of your earphones. I know some people don't like the kind of jokes but I just love them.

My Way

Now let me share with you how I listen to the podcasts. Well listening is listening right? What is there in it to write about?

First of all, I'm not a big "reader" although I love books. I don't get enough time to sit down and read. Like most people on planet earth, I have a day job.

So I listen to audiobooks; a lot of them from YouTube. That's where I came across the Bigger Pockets Podcasts,and immediately fell in love with it.

Downloading

If I were an iPhone user, I would have used iTunes. But I'm an Android user. So I download the podcasts. I have developed an Excel formula to automatically generate a sequential list of the URLs of all the podcasts.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/show1

http://www.biggerpockets.com/show2

http://www.biggerpockets.com/show3

....and so on and so forth

Going to each URL in my list, I click on the Download link and save the mp3 files on my laptop. Before saving each file I prefix the file name with the number of the podcast. For example podcast 1 is saved as 001 blah blah blah.mp3, podcast 2 is saved as 002 blah blah blah.mp3, etc. This way when I sort them by name the sequence is right.

In a few sittings I downloaded all of the 167 (actually 166 because one of them have been removed). Every week as a new one comes up, which I get an email notification of, I add it to my treasure. Although I had already listened to many of them in no particular order, I started from podcast 1 again,this time to go in proper sequence.

Listening

Now that I have all these mp3 files saved on my computer, it's time to make some good use of them other than just bragging about my priceless possession.

On my smartphone too I have a specific folder for the podcasts. Once in a week I connect my phone to the laptop and copy 10 to 15 files onto this folder.

Then I listen and listen and listen and listen. Every single minute possible. Whether I'm walking, running, driving, waiting for someone, shopping, eating... Most of the time I have my earphones on and Brandon and Josh are yapping away.

Technical details

This is where the fun begins. I use

an app called Smart AudioBook Player (version 2.9.6). This app is all that the name suggests. Unlike other media players, this one is designed specifically for audio books, and it is smart, very smart. For example, if there is an interruption, like a phone call or the navigation app lady giving directions, it politely pauses, and then starts again from a few seconds earlier. This way you can make sense of the sentences.

What I also do is I setup the playback speed to 1.3 times. Which means I can complete a podcast faster than normal. However, that is not the only reason why I do that. I have noticed that I my brain automatically pays more attention and grabs more of the content when the speed is higher.

After each podcast is done I go back and listen to it again. Yes, I listen to each podcast twice. You won't believe how much more you can learn from the same podcast by listening to it more than once. Same goes with books, right?

Favorite podcasts

Like the 7 billion people on this planet eventually will, I like Grant Cardone's episode 108 the most. That's number one.

Grant has this positive energy (so does Brandon by the way) that talks straight to your subconscious mind while your conscious mind is busy judging the content.

The exact same thing applies to Hal Elrod, (show 157). This guy is unbelievable.

Another all time favorite of mine is show 155 with Sharad Mehta. Sharad is awesome awesome awesome. Smart, witty, funny, generous, the list goes on and on.

So, I save these favorite ones in permanent folder on my phone. Whenever I'm depressed (meaning, every time I talk to my boss ;-)) I listen to these podcasts and they act as instant energy boosters.